The surface and deeper layers of the Mediterranean have exhibited unprecedented rates of warming since the mid-1980’s, primarily due to climate change. Recent projections have predicted that the Mediterranean Sea will be one of the regions most impacted by increasing global temperatures, and thus may serve as a “laboratory” for what can be expected in other areas of the global oceans under warmer climate scenarios. Metrics that characterise phytoplankton abundance, phenology (bloom timing) and size structure can be utilised as ecological indicators that enable a quantitative assessment of the status of the Mediterranean Sea, in response to warmer climate scenarios. Here, we use an abundance-based size phytoplankton size class model and apply it to remotely sensed Chl-a observations to infer Chl-a in three phytoplankton size classes (PSCs), pico- (< 2μm), nano- (2-20μm) and micro-phytoplankton (> 20μm). Model re-parameterisation is achieved using in situ High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) algal pigment datasets obtained during several research cruises conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean. We subsequently investigate the interannual variability of phenology metrics associated with each independent phytoplankton size class. Our results may ultimately be relevant for under-standing trophic linkages between phytoplankton size structure and fisheries, as well as the development of marine management strategies.

Primary Presenter: John Gittings, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (jagittings@biol.uoa.gr)

Authors:

Eleni Livanou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens  ()

Robert Brewin, Exeter University  ()

Stella Psarra, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research  ()

Manolis Mandalakis, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research  ()

Dionysios Raitsos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens  ()